Beep! The rousing sound of the moving truck’s horn sounded for the nth time. You look out the window as the truck driver yells from the cab and points repeatedly to his watch. All the half-packed crates, the junk on the floor, the stuff you’ve yet to wrap — they gaze at you in reproach. You crumble and finally lose it when you hear more incensed yells and incessant beeping from outside.
This jolts you awake, and the first thing you do is call a relocation company in Dubai.
Yes, indeed, moving to a new place can be daunting, and a significant part of the struggle is sorting and packing all of your things. Aside from seeking the help of relocation and mobility professionals, follow these clever packing tips, too, to make moving more manageable.
1.Go Through Everything
At least one month before you move, go through everything in your house — and that means everything. Go from one room to another, and in each room, be very systematic about your “inspection.” Check every shelf, cupboard and drawer. Look on top of cabinets, under the bed, and in every nook and cranny. Do not miss a single spot.
Include the outdoor areas in your rounds. Inspect your patio, the garden, your garage, and your driveway. These places will have stuff, too.
The goal, at this stage, is to take inventory of all the things you have. Even better, you can start an actual list of all your items instead of settling for a mental inventory.
2. Make “Throw,” “Give Away,” and “Sell” Piles
While you’re going through every room and every bit of space in each room, decide on the things you will not take with you when you move. Remove these from the rooms, then take them to the yard or your covered garage.
In your yard or garage, designate three distinct zones: one each for the stuff you’ll throw away, the stuff you’ll give away, and the stuff you’ll sell. Watch the three piles grow as you go through all the rooms in your house.
Once you’ve finished reconnoitring every room in the house — this should take several days — start acting on your piles. The throw-away pile, sort and throw into the correct bins for garbage collection. The give-away pile, start handing out to friends and family, donating to charity or offering to strangers online. Finally, the sell pile, start selling on your favourite online marketplace.
This step will do four things:
Force you to declutter and let go of the things you no longer need.
Give you the opportunity to help other people.
Earn a bit of money for you.
Trim down the contents of each room to your absolute necessities and must-keeps.
Prepare Your Packing Supplies
You need to prepare your packing supplies before you start packing in earnest. While you were inspecting every room in your house, especially if you made an actual inventory of your things, you would have realised what kinds of things you would need to pack and transport. This would have told you what types of supplies you’ll need.
The following is a basic grocery list of your packing supply essentials.
Moving Boxes
You will need different types and sizes. You know the sizes you’ll need because you know what stuff will go in them.
There are packing boxes for general packing and speciality boxes for distinct packing requirements. For instance, there are wardrobe boxes with metal hanger rods, TV boxes, frame boxes, mirror boxes, golf club boxes, and lamp boxes. There are also special cardboard packing accessories like dish packing cardboards with slotted compartments and corner protectors.
If you are packing for international relocation or shipping your items, get shipping boxes. There are heavy-duty boxes, telescopic boxes, Gaylord boxes, weather-resistant boxes, insulated shipping containers, and even foam-lined mailers.
Other Supplies
The following are some of the other supplies you might need.
- Packing Tape
- Bubble Wrap and Bubble Pouches
- Foam Wrap
- Plastic Bags
- Protection Tape
- Stretch Packing Films
- Furniture Covers
- Mattress Bags
- Moving Blankets (you can also use thick blankets, towels and sheets)
- Packing Paper (you can also use old newspapers and magazines)
- Utility Knife
Pack Every Room
Once you have trimmed down the contents of every room into the barest necessities and must-keeps, provided you have all your packing supplies ready, start packing. It’s best to do this continuously until you’re done instead of doing it in pulses or surges.
Therefore, before you begin packing, take time off work or whatever normally occupies your time. Systematic packing requires your full concentration.
To make packing more manageable, pack per room. Doing this will ensure you will keep the clutter to only a small area, and you can take a break in another room if you need rest. This also makes unpacking easier because you can unpack room by room in your new house.
Label every box properly. List down all the contents of the box on a packing list and tape the list on the side of the box. Moreover, do not forget to write the name of the room (e.g., bedroom, living room, dining room) on the label.
Pack Securely
Follow a packing strategy. Ideally, wrap each item separately. Barring that, at least wrap those that could shatter, break or get scratched when they move against other things in the box. For instance, you can wrap your prized sculpture floor lamp in bubble wrap before putting it inside a lamp box.
When filling the boxes, put the heavy and bulky items inside first. Next, slowly fill the remaining spaces with mid-size stuff. Then, fill the gaps with the smaller items.
If any gaps remain between items, pack them full with towels, shirts, or old newspapers. The goal is not to leave a gap so your things will not slide or move and get damaged during transport.
Pack Last-Minute Essentials Last
When packing the contents of a particular room, skip the things you know you will need until the day of your move. For instance, you know you will need the soap and toiletries you are using, so don’t pack them inside boxes just yet.
These things you will pack at the last minute, so leave a box empty for this last-minute stuff. It’s highly likely they’re also the things you’ll need when you first arrive at your destination, so best travel with them or put them in your car instead of in the moving truck.
Beat the Stress of Moving
Packing for a move is no picnic, but you can save yourself the headache and avoid the panic of move day by following a systematic packing strategy. Better yet, get the help of a professional relocation and mobility solutions company. They can do everything for you: sorting, listing, packing, transporting, shipping, unpacking, and even clean-up, too.
AUTHOR BIO
Sushma Salian is the Business Head, Asset Mobility of Writer Relocations, India’s premier mobility services company that handles all types of moves: International & Domestic Relocations, Office Relocations, Commercial Move Management Services, Hospitality Logistics, Fine Arts Logistics, Orientation Services, and Storage Solutions. Headquartered in Mumbai, Writer Relocations has presence in 7 countries and operates in more than 190 countries.
